THE Woking News and Mail launched its first survey this week, confident that demand for a local newspaper is stronger than ever.

Woking’s only designated newspaper is offering readers the chance to “have your say”, with automatic entry to win a whole year’s free subscription to the Woking News and Mail as well as £100 worth of Debenham’s vouchers in a prize draw. The survey is also reaching out to retailers and advertisers as key stakeholders.

The survey was compiled by local research consultancy The Halo Works and aims to build the publication’s growing readership with a two-way conversation with residents and businesses in the area. Launched on Monday, the survey takes no morer than five minutes to complete and remains live online until 31st May at http://feedback.thehaloworks.com/survey/selfserve/174e/170311.

Local businessman, Philip Davies who with his brother Jon also owns Knaphill Print, bought the title in 2011 after it was closed by Trinity Mirror in 2010. Since then the small sales and editorial teams, with support from community news contributors, has seen a gradual increase in the publication’s circulation.

News and Mail Managing Director Terry Tidbury says: “We want to know what our readers, retailers and advertisers have to say because we believe that interest in local news is stronger than ever.

“The increased appetite for community news owes a lot to citizen participation in news, but this tends to be rooted in the work of volunteers which can leave titles vulnerable for a variety of reasons. As a local newspaper business we are accountable for our content and its delivery on a number of levels. We see a real future for local news and we’re confident that the results of this survey will help us to enhance our offer.”

“The launch of our Chobham edition has been very popular,” says Editor Stuart Flitton. “It illustrates the fact that people are welcoming the newspaper back as an important source of local news and more importantly a way of linking up to community life. Its why we’ve found that readers really value the work of contributors such Ann Tilbury, who focuses mainly on Horsell community news.”